One flaw all Linux distributions appear to have is to get easily broken with updates. I thought UberStudent was the exception, but unfortunately I was wrong. I postponed the updates (update manager and all the updates afterwards), thought that doing so I would lower the chance of downloading unstable ones, but it was no good. After updating today I have no access to my system anymore.

How do I fix my system without reinstalling and losing stuff?I tried both entries but without success.

Thanks in advance,Samir

Author:

Stephen Ewen [ Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:31 am ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

UberStudent is a distro downstream of Ubuntu. It replaces numerous Ubuntu packages with (I think) superior ones forked from Linux Mint and a few others that are specific to UberStudent. It adds a whole lot of custom Xfce, xdg, and other configurations and settings, which are called only after boot time and are largely contained in the package uberstudent-xfce-default-settings-enduser and its variants; plus, the software installed by default from the package uberstudent-desktop-xfce is obviously dramatically different and is in numerous cases only available from the UberStudent repository. At boot time, the UberStudent system, called from the package uberstudentsystem, also replaces a lot of files that make a normal Xfce or Xubutnu or any other Linux system annoying, non-noob-friendly, or needlessly obfuscating--you can see the details of that by hitting Alt+F2 and running:

Code:

leafpad /var/log/uberstudentsystem.log

Only technically-speaking, that's UberStudent very simplified and in a nutshell.

Please note:No UberStudent-specific packages affect the system at a level deep enough to cause a kernel panic--none, not one. UberStudent-specific packages only come in to play after boot has taken place.

The issue affecting you is an Ubuntu-specific issue affecting certain EFI machines. By my take, EFI has brought a rather frustrating time to the Linux world--it is certainly frustrating to me as I am right now building an UberStudent 4.1 ISO with the best possible EFI support--that will take some time to work out completely, unfortunately. This is not only a Linux issue. It's a little ugly everywhere, as OEM's themselves are mass-producing machines with what amounts to hacks to cope with EFI. You can see the result of the updates for a non-EFI UberStudent system at this forums post--his bug does not affect boot and in his case is a mere minor annoyance. As is yours, this issue is due to an upstream issue. None of the six machines I use in development testing were affected in like manner. Like it or not, Microsoft sits atop the computer world and they have issued a top-down decision regarding EFI to OEMs, and they are scrambling along with everyone else to cope. The very best solution in the right now today for the current EFI debacle for those who want to run Linux is to buy a laptop designed to run Linux--they also run Windows just as easily--or make their own desktop machine, see my forum signature for details.

As a distro downstream of Ubuntu, I am committed to help solve issues that are not solved sooner in upstream Ubuntu.

At the grub boot menu, use your arrow keys to boot into recovery mode, then with your arrow keys select root (Drop to root shell prompt), and then use the arrow keys to select OK and hit Enter on your keyboard.

At the command prompt, run the following lines exactly as written (you'll probably need to print these steps to paper or VERY carefully write them down):

Enables write access to the system in recovery mode

Code:

mount -o rw,remount /

Regenerates the image required for booting

Code:

update-initramfs -u -k all

Code:

reboot

Then, resume normal boot.

Please let me know the result.

Author:

Samir Moussa [ Mon Dec 08, 2014 12:54 pm ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

As always thank you for your fast and extensive response Stephen!

I got it started. However, I don't know if it's because the fix.I got to Previous Linux Versions, and from there it takes a while, but UberStudent does start. I didn't try this before your fix so I don't know if it made a difference.This is a temporary fix which allows me to at least backup my stuff.

I'm sorry, didn't think of EFI. When I selected this netbook I selected it on the base of hardware, it was praised in some reviews. The first few times I tried to install Linux I did not succeed because of EFI, and when I turned it off in the BIOS some distributions like Mageia didn't support it at all back then (don't know if that's still the case).

I still do like to run your awesome OS, so what do you suggest? Wait for your 4.1 version or reinstall just right away?I wanted to re-partition my harddrive anyway, so I would have eventually done so even if it didn't got broken.Maintaining the distro almost all by your self is an impressive job, so I understand if it will take some time before you can upload the update.Thanks!

Now hit Ctrl+F and search for lines beginning with menuentry 'UberStudent 4.1 (don't miss the ' in that).

For the menuentry that contains --class ubuntu on it, 15 or 16 lines down a line will begin with linux. At the end of that line add reboot=a,w to it, such that the entire line will look something like this (your UUID will be different):

Hopefully that fixes the issue. If it does, let me know and I will include an option in the UberStudent 4.1 ISO grub menu, Start UberStudent 4.1 Xfce 64-bit (ACPI and warm reboot mode), that runs this kernel command switch.

Author:

Samir Moussa [ Fri Dec 26, 2014 2:29 pm ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

Sorry for the delay! I'll give an indication next time when I won't be trying something right away.

I tried it today, but the second file gave me trouble, I don't have such file.I do have the folder /etc/default (without the 's') and the textfile grub, I put it on my dropbox: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49173268/Media/bugs/grub. It does contain 'quet splash', but is quiet different besides that. I'm looking for time to reinstall UberStudent anyhow (different partitioning), but it could be useful to figure it out for other users/future updates. Please let me know what you want me to do.

P.S. Merry Christmas!

Author:

Stephen Ewen [ Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:20 am ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

It would be awesome if you could install the 4.1 release candidate and let me know how it goes. I was very careful to make it with the same EFI support Ubuntu has but would really appreciate a few more testers.

Any substantive difference between the Release Candidate and the full release will consist only in how I build the ISO--if any changes are neccessary. Everything else will simply update with normal updates, even if you have 4.0 installed. So if you install the 4.1 release candidate you will not need to install the 4.1 full release.

Author:

Samir Moussa [ Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:52 pm ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

I will try installing it next week and let you know how it went.

For now, best wishes and enjoy your evening if you're going to do something special!

-S

Author:

Samir Moussa [ Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:08 pm ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

I did the installation last week.First thing I noticed is the clean screen, no more flashing and resizing like with the previous installations. So I guess I can work with UberStudent directly without having to install Xubuntu first (because of the previous experienced crashes). Big improvement! I also like the clean startup and shutdown interface. Only disadvantage is that if it would freeze it wouldn't be obvious.

I've had some bugs however. First bug was when I tried installing directly in my own language and got some vague error. So I started a new install and used English, changed it later to Dutch. However, I can't seem to fix the other two bugs as easily, I will try to re-install everything again when I got the time. The first one is Dropbox: sometimes there are two battery icons, one being Dropbox. But mostly there is no Dropbox icon at all. I tried removing everything and re-installing. The Dropbox syncronization is working as it should however. The other bug is in Firefox. Firefox can't remember my tabs when I quit and I guess that's also the reason tab groups aren't working. I looked for the profile file but in the specified folder the file is missing?! I don't want to 'reset' Firefox because I'll lose the UberStudent extensions as well.

I think I can hold out for a few weeks, I'll post an update after the re-install.

Author:

Stephen Ewen [ Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:18 pm ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

Samir Moussa wrote:

Firefox can't remember my tabs when I quit and I guess that's also the reason tab groups aren't working. I looked for the profile file but in the specified folder the file is missing?! I don't want to 'reset' Firefox because I'll lose the UberStudent extensions as well.

This is not a bug but a user preference you have to set. In Ff, go to Edit > Preferences > General tab and under "When Firefox starts" select "Show my windows and tabs from last time." Done.

You can delete the Firefox profile any time. It will re-seed the default preferences and add-ons and be as it was when you first ran it.

Samir Moussa wrote:

...sometimes there are two battery icons, one being Dropbox. But mostly there is no Dropbox icon at all. I tried removing everything and re-installing. The Dropbox syncronization is working as it should however.

Dropbox works without flaw for me. Can you show me a screenshot of your panel so I can see what you mean?

Author:

Samir Moussa [ Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:39 pm ]

Post subject:

Re: Updates broke EFI on LENOVO system

Concerning Firefox: I did that. The solution appeared to deleting the profile, but the specified file is nowhere to be found.. Perhaps I can still try to remove the entire folder.

Concerning Dropbox: I mostly see no icon at all, and sometimes a second battery icon representing dropbox (if I hover above it/click it I get the dropbox options).